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Purported presidential hopeful Donald Trump has yet to officially throw his hat in the ring. But the omnipresent business mogul continues to make the most noise out of his Republican peers with eyes for the White House due to his controversial persistence in raising doubt over the authenticity of President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. Now following the President’s public release of his official document in response to what many critics have labeled as ugly and racist behavior by Trump and others labeled “birthers,” legendary Public Enemy frontman and political commentator Chuck D says the disgraceful reality show host is getting a free ride from the hip-hop community. And it all comes down to dollars and cents.

“If rappers are so bold like they used to be there would be like 10 diss records for Donald Trump right now,” insist Chuck. “But the average rapper is afraid because they don’t know if Trump will have money for them one day. Money has brought their fear out. There are supposed to be 20 cats lined up cursing Trump the fuck out. This is supposed to be hip-hop, right?”

Chuck D, who has had his own criticism of President Obama, believes that when it comes to the blatant racism of demanding birth certificates and college transcripts from the first black President (Trump has said on several occasions that Obama was not qualified to attend Ivy League institution Harvard), rappers need to stand up.

“President Obama is going to make a lot of moves that will make you go OMG and WTF, but this is the President of the United States,” Chuck explains. “So whatever little move that he can make for you, you got to fight for it. This whole thing with Donald Trump…he’s on some bullshit. Someone needs to say, ‘Yo, Donald Trump…you full of shit and I’m going to seriously fuck you up.’ That’s what the rap community used to do, but now nobody can make that statement because everybody feels politically in debt.”

When asked if the past outspoken likes of Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and 50 Cent will speak up and call out Trump, Chuck D says don’t count on it. “You are not going to get it from them,” he says. “You will be waiting until the cows come home. People that say something are the people that have nothing to lose. If you go inside of a jail and ask a prisoner what they think about Trump they will be like, ‘Man, fuck that bitch.’ They don’t have anything to lose from speaking from their hearts and minds. A lot of the rappers today are too worried about their brand. Trump is full of it. Fuck him.”

Chuck D is no stranger to making waves. The influential leader of Public Enemy led the progressive group to create some of hip-hop’s most greatest and thought-provoking works that includes It Takes A Nation of Million to Hold Us Back (1988), Fear of a Black Planet (1990) and Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Black (1991). P.E. is currently working on a new studio album set for release late next year.—Keith Murphy